alxra

A statement in another thread got me thinking; what other athletes look like they'd have a lot of potential in the professional cycling world? I think David Beckham could probably excel in cycling if he slimmed down his upper body. There are some NBA players like Iverson and Nash that could have been competitive in cycling.

Getting into cycling is not like picking up a basketball and going to the nearest playground. I'm just wondering, if there were less barriers to entry, and it was more socially encouraged (like the big 3 in the US), what athletes from other, more popular sports would we possibly see kicking some a$$ in cycling?

What other sports might have Armstrong, Ullrich, Basso, Mayo, etc. excelled at? (please avoid being master of the obvious by chiming in with triathlon)

Just thought it could be an interesting discussion.

Edit: How 'bout some names, names! Not just other sports.

SDRider

Maybe one or two F1 drivers.

David Coulthard rides quite a bit as part of his training regimen.

jbhowat

Very few of them. The NBA players most likely would not be competitive. Climbing Alps is a lot different from prancing about on a wooden floor.

duane041

Chris Chelios. You should see that guys legs.

KeithA

The ones that come to mind are track and field runners.

was_bmxer

Well, Troy Bayliss is known to cycle a bit. Cipo liked to do track days on his motorbike I belive.

Amy Gilet (RIP) was world class in two sports.

Many cyclists like football, but I don't think a lot of them are really good at it.

KeithA

Oh, and definitely not pro wrestlers...if that's even a sport.

cycle17

Stacey Dragillia (sp?) Track star, tremendous athlete. Marathoners probably too.

SeqTarRou

Shaq would be King of the Hill.

Ichiro might do ok.

Tennis or Soccer might be sports some of the cyclists could be good at.

55/Rad

How about that speed skater from a few years back - Eric Heiden. I bet he'd do ok as a cyclist.



55/Rad

eskimo85

Any xcountry skiier would kick ass

was_bmxer

Paola Pezzo was a cross counrty skier for the national team before focusing on mountain bikes.

Slice2

Speedskaters. Oh, you said popular sports.

Eric Heiden, Sheila Young, and Roger Young who've all done it (as in 'have all gone on to become successful bike racers after being successful speedskaters') come to mind.

Just imagine Apollo Ono in a field sprint. I'd pay to see that.

was_bmxer

hey eskimo, we posted the cross country reference at the same time

HobartDave

Steven Bradbury!! First Aussie to win Gold in the winter olympics. Just 'cause everyone else fell over dosn't matter, does it?

pinky

there was that guy from the NHL in Colorado, maybe not ProTour but he was putting out wattage numbers that were stunning his coach.

trekking_TW

There are a few Indy car drivers who cycle and one who does Oly tri's.... just can't think of the names

ed073

Swimmers.
Nordic skiers.
Rowers.

Massive lungs.

pedex

I would think a few of the lightweight and middleweight boxers would do ok. Stamina, conditioning, and discipline and being abut the right size..........thats most of the battle. Most of the rest is being able to learn and practice. Fast twitch favors track events, slow twitch favors stage racing. Alot of these athletes could be good at quite a few sports, and many have. Ive often wondered what a guy like deon sanders could have done with some training on a bike. Or someone like Bo jackson on a track bike....those guys spend more time in the gym at the squat rack than riding.

Duke of Kent

Uhhh no. She's a pole vaulter. Runs 30-40m at a time. No aerobic endurance to speak of. Hell, no anaerobic either.

Marathoners? Great aerobic endurance, and pretty good lactic threshold. However, no power. This is the reason that Kenyans will NEVER do anything on a bike.

Dchiefransom

Someone on another forum posted that Eric Heyden did take up racing.

For the other poster, basketball players don't just prance around on the court. Our training to play involved lots and lots of sprinting back and forth. Constant, constant sprinting.

tinrobot

Basketball players - too tall. Football - too beefy. Baseball is a lot of upper body and not much endurance.

Soccer - maybe... Hockey - maybe...

The obvious ones are the less popular sports -- speed skaters, marathoners, cross country skiiers.

Sincitycycler

Oh yeah. What is the smallest classification, flyweight?

I think they weigh 100 lbs. Could you imagine the ease of climbing if you were that small?

Prince9931

Allen Iverson would be awesome

LittleGinseng 

I'm sure Roger Clemens would have something to say about this. He gets his reknowned power from pushing off the rubber...with his legs. Yeah, I think there are many Major Leaguers who would do well at cycling.